Oakland marcher, organizers say Egypt blocked humanitarian march to Gaza
Oakland man returns from 'Global March to Gaza'
Organizers said the group intended to march from Cairo to Rafah, but the trip was cut short after tensions rose in Cairo.
SAN FRANCISCO - An East Bay man returned from Egypt on Tuesday after taking part in the Global March to Gaza.
Tension in the Middle East
What we know:
Organizers said the group intended to march from Cairo to Rafah, but the trip was cut short after tensions rose in Cairo.
Adil Jakvani, of Oakland, said when he learned an organization was marching to free Palestine, he dropped everything to participate in the march.
"I went to get aid into Gaza," he said in an interview at SFO after his plane landed.
Humanitarian aid
Global March to Gaza is a civilian-led advocacy group bringing together more than 4,000 volunteers from more than 80 countries.
"The goal of the march was to go to Cairo, get to Al-Arish and march to the Rafah border to help pressure governments to allow aid, medical supplies and food into Gaza," he said.
Jakvani returned with a broken heart, saying the five-day pilgrimage was interrupted by Egyptian forces before they were able to leave Cairo.
He said it got tense and violent as marchers were forcefully detained.
Seen in a video he shared with us, Jakvani said Egyptian paramilitia were seen throwing water bottles as the organization held a peaceful sit-in.
‘Disappearing people’
"Some of the other organizers said, ‘Hey, for safety reasons at this point, it's become very clear that the Egyptian authorities do not want us here, and that they are detaining us and disappearing some people, so it's better to leave the country as soon as possible,’ which is why I changed my flight, and I’m here today," he said. "I was supposed to return Saturday."
Jakvani said he was among 250 other Americans forced to return home.
Now, his plea is to stop sending American taxpayer dollars to Israel.
"There’s plenty of unhoused folks in Oakland. There’s plenty of unhoused folks in San Francisco. Those tax dollars should be used here and not in Gaza and not in Iran," he said.
Although the march never continued to the border as intended, Jakvani said he’s grateful for the opportunity to make his voice heard.
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